Paula Triezenberg asked for volunteers to take over the church library because she was moving away. I volunteered along with David Lincicum, a New Testament professor at Notre Dame. David Eisen, a retired librarian who headed the Mishawaka Public Libraries, is assisting us. First, I needed to learn to use the Delicious Library system which I did not find intuitive. I can check out books and am learnng how to check books in. There is more to learn.
Because I read Ann Berends' lovely book, a spiritual memoir written with Maureen Hallinan, I was inspired to create a bookshelf dedicated to our own church authors--present members and former members of our congregation. We have 20 books ready to go and more donations are coming in. The books range from poetry, philosophy, self-help, Biblical studies, biography, one novel and quite a bit of church history thanks to former members, Mark Noll and George Marsden, prolific writers.
There is plenty of work to do in the library. We need to purge books and CDs and even video-tapes that no one is using. I think we could break down the large section on Christian Living into categories of Parenting, Prayer, etc. Maybe we should have a section for Women's Spirituality because there are several such books. I just hesitate to do so without a special section for Men's Spirituality. Maybe I could label it Feminisim for Men and Women!
I have a new summer project and I am happy about this adventure. I love books and a church library can fill a role that a public library or academic library does not necessarily have.
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